An existential crisis for the Red Army
Or more correctly, the Sukhoputnyye Sily Rossii or Russian Ground Forces. As everyone is all to well aware, the Russians have been engaging in all sorts of shashka-rattling in and around the North and Norwegian Seas by way of bomber flights, naval manoeuvres and so on. Norway has been a particular target.
Presumably the Russians were not doing this for the view or because there was just so much avgas to burn up, but rather to impress upon NATO countries that the Bear was not to be trifled with.
However, "Early this month Russian Defense Chief Yuri Baluyevsky asked for a meeting with Norwegian counterpart Sverre Diesen to clarify Norway's opinion of their northern neighbor....Baluyevsky reportedly wanted to confirm that Russia was not viewed as a threat by Norway".
I do not suppose that the Red Wheel - as was - is likely to be rolling towards Trondheim any time soon, but there is something profoundly silly about a military that has been acting in an intimidating way then getting the jitters lest it has succeeded in being intimidating.
Meandering a bit, I would like to hear the Song of the Soviet Airmen, supposedly written by an American defector / sympathiser / useful idiot and inspired by Harvard gridiron football fight songs, so to speak. The refrain, from memory, goes like this:
"Higher and higher and higher
soars the Soviet star.
And every propeller is roaring
defend the USSR!"
While attempting to pin down the reference, I discovered that some public-spirited individual has a web page with the lyrics to sundry Socialist songs. Quite entertaining, some of them, especially 'Harry was a Bolshie':
"Harry was a Bolshie, one of Stalin's lads
Till he was foully murdered by counter revolutionary cads
Counter revolutionary, counter revolutionary cads
He was foully murdered by counter revolutionary cads"
Said Harry was Pollitt, one time GenSec of the CPGB, and according to Wiki died of a brain haemorrhage.
Presumably the Russians were not doing this for the view or because there was just so much avgas to burn up, but rather to impress upon NATO countries that the Bear was not to be trifled with.
However, "Early this month Russian Defense Chief Yuri Baluyevsky asked for a meeting with Norwegian counterpart Sverre Diesen to clarify Norway's opinion of their northern neighbor....Baluyevsky reportedly wanted to confirm that Russia was not viewed as a threat by Norway".
I do not suppose that the Red Wheel - as was - is likely to be rolling towards Trondheim any time soon, but there is something profoundly silly about a military that has been acting in an intimidating way then getting the jitters lest it has succeeded in being intimidating.
Meandering a bit, I would like to hear the Song of the Soviet Airmen, supposedly written by an American defector / sympathiser / useful idiot and inspired by Harvard gridiron football fight songs, so to speak. The refrain, from memory, goes like this:
"Higher and higher and higher
soars the Soviet star.
And every propeller is roaring
defend the USSR!"
While attempting to pin down the reference, I discovered that some public-spirited individual has a web page with the lyrics to sundry Socialist songs. Quite entertaining, some of them, especially 'Harry was a Bolshie':
"Harry was a Bolshie, one of Stalin's lads
Till he was foully murdered by counter revolutionary cads
Counter revolutionary, counter revolutionary cads
He was foully murdered by counter revolutionary cads"
Said Harry was Pollitt, one time GenSec of the CPGB, and according to Wiki died of a brain haemorrhage.
Labels: Extreme Left, matters military, Mother Russia, Norway
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on Friday, December 21, 2007 at 11:14 am.
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re old Harry, the version I remember from way back was slightly different:
'Harry was a commie
One of Lenin's Lads
Till he was foully murdered
By those counter-revolutionary cads.' Etc...
Same sense - but scans a little better? They were a grim bunch anyway...
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